The White Shadow

I can sense myself about to enter into a week-long marathon sesh of my beloved The White Shadow; to celebrate, I've gone through the years and picked out a few great things I had to say about the show. You're welcome, earth!

The first thing I love about the show is it’s visual authenticity; ie the school and gym looks like my school and every gym I played in. Drab, dreary etc. Empty stands, crappy WIN CARVER banners in the gym. If it came out today there’d be twenty-minute player introductions before each game with a laser show pumping and the “Lets get ready to rumble!!!” guy clocking in as the Laker girls sit on each other’s faces. And the wardrobe – black dudes wearing flannel with worn out jeans? Ah, the old days. Plus, the funny thing about the team is here’s a school in a black neighborhood in South Central, yet there’s room on the team for a Mexican, a Jew, an Italian and, get this, an Irish guy. I’m surprised there wasn’t a benchwarmer with a towel on his head.

One funny thing about the cast is no matter how many times I watch the show, maybe twice a day, I still can’t get the fucking names of the core group of 4 or so black guys straight. Call me a racist, but other than Coolidge I have no idea who’s who when coach is shouting out “Heyward! Thorpe! Jackson! Reese!” My only defense here is that a while back in this post I said the same about Hoosiers, so…apparently no matter what color you are - if you put on some tight shorts and run around a basketball court with a coupla other half-naked guys, my mind goes blank and I can’t remember your name.

One more thing I love about The White Shadow is nobody seems even vaguely impressed that the coach played in the NBA for 12 years. I know the NBA wasn't always like it is now, but this did coincide with Bird and Magic reviving the league. And wouldn't it still be newsworthy, a pro ballplayer coming to coach your local high school? Plus the team is filled with players who...you know...CONSTANTLY TALK ABOUT MAKING IT INTO THE NBA!!! But do they worship Coach Reeves, do they follow him around asking him questions, itching for some extra help to boost their game? They interested in some insider NBA stories? Nah. Reeves walks in the room they're rolling their eyes "christ, here comes Coach Sqaure." Kills me. Like Tera Patrick coming to teach Sex Ed and nobody notices.

 Was The White Shadow the first in a now-long line of “white teacher comes to black neighborhood and changes lives” tropes?

How the hell in over 40 years nobody's picked up on the fact that the sound right before 0:02 in this trailer sounds like a fart?